


don't be a stranger

by tsubean



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Drinking, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Growing Up, Kissing, Late Night Conversations, Light Angst, M/M, Pining, author is very clearly in love with beomgyu, good boys learning how to do crime, taehyun’s legendary “i’m a coward but not a loser” line makes an appearance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29653125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsubean/pseuds/tsubean
Summary: Beomgyu always looks at him like this. Like Taehyun’s worthy of being seen. It makes Taehyun want to let his guard down, bare his soul, hold his heart in his hands.This can be yours, hyung, if I weren’t so stubborn.(Or, a week before graduation, Taehyun and Beomgyu sneak into the school rooftop.)
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 10
Kudos: 97





	don't be a stranger

**Author's Note:**

> hello, thank you for deciding to check this fic out! title is from phoebe bridgers' scott street; i listened to it A Lot while writing this.
> 
> if you’re curious about their ages:  
> taehyun - 20 (19 internationally)  
> beomgyu - 21 (20 internationally)
> 
> \+ if you want the Full Effect, please envision way home mv taegyu while reading! my very pretty, slightly angsty high school boys….
> 
> anyways, i hope you enjoy :)

There are two ways to get to the school rooftop.

One, obviously, is by using the main entrance. It’s where everyone passes, where most security cameras are. It’s wide, consists of multiple glass doors towering high. But they do not budge in the silence of the night. Getting them to open requires a passcode and a few other steps, something Taehyun never bothered to understand. Not his job, anyway—that’s the faculty’s thing. 

Besides, there’s a second route, and Taehyun likes that one so much more. 

It’s hidden behind the thicket framing the entrance courtyard. Past the yellow-orange leaves and golden bushes. Follow the winding path until the wire fences come to view, one of the tallest barriers in the area.

But where others may leave it at that—a barrier—Taehyun knows the leftmost one is climbable. Its holes are wide enough to use as steppers. 

“Is this right?” Beomgyu looks down, mid-climb, at Taehyun. “Can I shift to the other side now?”

“Yeah, hyung. Just be careful, a few pieces of barbed wire are up there.”

Beomgyu successfully lands, feet making a dull thump on the ground. He wipes his hands on his pants and gives Taehyun a thumbs-up. Taehyun jumps up to fling his bag over the fence, and starts climbing. It should be embarrassing how quickly Taehyun moves, body already accustomed to the path, but he only feels a weird rush in his veins. 

Well, coupled with the crippling nervousness in his gut at the prospect of getting caught.

All those weeks of strolling around the campus in search of the perfect pathway have definitely paid off, though. Being part of the student council has its perks, and this is one of them—teachers don’t question Taehyun when they find him walking by areas which are off limits. He has a pass and they trust him too much, it’s almost funny.

Man, Taehyun’s proud of himself. Is this what their seniors meant, when they said everybody completely loses it during their fourth year?

He reaches for Beomgyu’s hand once he lands, their fingers intertwining instantly. Then they’re off, running through the grass. Beside him, Beomgyu’s hair is wild, eyes determined. The wind is everywhere. Crawls through Taehyun’s arms. He holds on to the strap of the bag slung on his shoulder, squeezes Beomgyu’s hand even tighter.

They keep running. The building shifts into something bigger with each sprint. 

“There,” Taehyun breathes, gasping for air once it’s right in front of them. “Ladder. It’s at the top.”

Finally. He pauses for a while to tuck his shoelaces in, then surges towards it. They’re so close now. Taehyun’s troublemaker fantasy is almost in his grasp.

He reaches for the metal and takes a deep breath. Here goes. 

“Wait—Taehyun, Taehyun—fuck!” 

Beomgyu grabs at Taehyun’s shirt right before he steps on the first rung of the ladder. Taehyun loses his balance, the force of Beomgyu’s grip tugging him backwards. With a squeak, he falls, Beomgyu stumbling along with him. 

They end up on the grass, Beomgyu on his back and Taehyun right above him. Taehyun’s palms dig into the soil, effectively stopping him from barreling straight into Beomgyu’s chest.

“What the hell, hyung?” Taehyun asks, more amused than anything. “What was that for?” 

Beomgyu makes a face that screams, _do you really not know, you goof_? When it’s obvious that Taehyun doesn’t get it, he huffs. His breath is warm on Taehyun’s cheeks, their faces are so close. Taehyun should probably move away but he doesn’t want to. 

“The camera.” Beomgyu hisses, pointing somewhere behind Taehyun. “Have you forgotten?” 

This gets a laugh out of Taehyun. “I’m not stupid, hyung.” He stands, helping a bewildered Beomgyu up. “We were one of the first ones to get our graduation photos taken today, right? I excused myself once I was done to get the rooftop key and passed by the electronics room. It was empty, so I thought, _why not_ , and disconnected the camera.”

Taehyun shrugs like it was no big deal but it was. It happened about six hours ago, and his heart is still racing from what he did. He feels nauseous just _thinking_ about it. How did he even survive that, knowing how close the principal’s office is to where he unplugged the wires?

“Oh, wow, okay. Maybe The Kang Taehyun has guts,” Beomgyu drawls sarcastically, already walking towards the ladder. He obviously sees through Taehyun’s nonchalant exterior. 

Taehyun rolls his eyes, balling his shaking hands into fists. 

Maybe he is a coward, after all.

━━━━━━━━━

Taehyun is a coward, but there’s no way he’s a loser. 

The fact that he’s doing this—breaking into the school rooftop at 11 in the evening—is enough proof, right?

Except it’s entirely new to him. Breaking the rules, sneaking into prohibited areas. A shiver runs up his spine as he realizes his parents don’t know about this, either. The last time Taehyun saw them was at the dinner table a few hours ago.

Taehyun wonders, very briefly, if the pillows he tucked under his blankets are still there.

He sets the duffle bag down, stretches his arms. “It’s heavy, hyung. What did you bring?”

“Soju,” Beomgyu replies, smoothening the creases on the picnic mat. “A pack of Yakult, too, I heard they go well together. And snacks, of course.”

Taehyun takes a seat beside Beomgyu. The coast is already clear, it has been for a few minutes now, but the nerves won’t stop. It’s a constant, tingling buzz. Taehyun’s discomfort must be readable, because Beomgyu frowns.

“What’s the matter, Taehyun-ah?” He asks. His fingers sweep Taehyun’s bangs into place, feather-light. Beomgyu’s gaze is impossibly tender, Taehyun has to restrain himself from averting his eyes.

Beomgyu always looks at him like this. Like Taehyun’s worthy of being seen. It makes Taehyun want to let his guard down, bare his soul, hold his heart in his hands. _This can be yours, hyung, if I weren’t so stubborn._

Taehyun sighs. “I don’t know. I feel nervous, kinda? The plan’s worked so far, but a part of me thinks we weren’t cut out for this.” It’s an unreasonable fear. Taehyun’s plans always work, he’s meticulous in a way that rules out even the tiniest of mistakes. But he’s always too tense to let everything play out. He has to constantly be alert. Has to be in control.

Beomgyu knows this. Yet he squeezes Taehyun’s shoulder, the touch reassuring. He never shoves the expectations further down Taehyun’s throat, never insists on him being perfect all the time. Beomgyu always lets Taehyun say what he thinks, feel what he feels. “We can head back if it gets too much.” 

Taehyun shakes his head. “No. I want this.” 

“Yeah?” Beomgyu smiles softly. “Great. Let’s live a little.”

And it sounds so sure, so certain. Beomgyu’s voice doesn't quiver the way Taehyun does whenever he gets vulnerable. But Taehyun knows Beomgyu has his own fears, too. It’s evident in his actions, they’re more guarded. Careful.

Taehyun doesn’t miss the undertones of fear in Beomgyu’s eyes, the way they flit around every so often. How they stay on the exit for a beat longer than normal. _I know you, hyung. I can see right through you._

Beomgyu takes the bottle of soju in his hands, though, and glances at Taehyun. “You don’t have to drink if you don't want to, okay?” 

“Okay, hyung.” Taehyun pauses. “I want to, though.” His words are more decisive now, ringing through the night, but Taehyun’s mouth is dry. His chest cracks like thunder and he can hear it in his ears, in his exhales.

Just how good are they at this, at denying their fears in front of the feeling itself? 

But Taehyun’s sure of one thing: He wants this. He’s wanted this for so, so long. 

The liquid shakes with Beomgyu’s attempts at opening the bottle. Tiny bubbles float on top. Taehyun winces. Won’t it explode? 

“Do you need help?” He asks, worried. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Beomgyu replies, though his grasp on the drink is wobbly. “I got this, hmpf—!”

Taehyun startles along with him, wide-eyed as the cap pops off and falls through the spaces of Beomgyu’s shaky fingers. The metal tumbles down, down, down, plops on the ground. There’s a moment of tense silence before Beomgyu snorts and they start doubling over in laughter.

The sound is foregin and light, barreling straight into his prior nervousness. They laugh loudly and Taehyun thinks they don’t care anymore, this is fun, this is how it feels to be alive.

He lets the wave wash over him.

“Scared of a bottle, hyung?” Taehyun gasps in between fits of laughter, “Didn’t know you were such a coward.”

“Shut up!” Beomgyu smacks him on the shoulder. 

They dump the rest of the duffle bag’s contents out. Aside from a few more soju bottles, there’s gimbap, peel sausages, and a pack of Yakult. A bag of jellies is there, too, but that one’s Beomgyu’s. 

Taehyun watches as Beomgyu tips his head back to drink. Taehyun counts one, two, three gulps before Beomgyu stops. He licks his lips for a moment, then hands the bottle to Taehyun. 

His hand is clammy when he gets a hold of it, green glass staring back at him. It’s smooth. He reads the label, it’s peach flavored. Not that it matters, he wouldn’t know what to compare it to. 

Taehyun’s first sip is tentative. It burns the roof of his mouth and it feels weird. “I’ve never drank before.”

Beomgyu blinks. “Not even with your parents?”

“Nope.” Taehyun takes another sip, lets it trickle down his throat. The liquid burns, lingers.

He likes it. Maybe it’s better this way, having his first drink here, out in the open. A secret in front of the expanse of buildings, right below the vast sky. He’s doing something he shouldn't, but nothing has ever felt more right than the chalky cement of the rooftop’s floor. Nothing has ever felt more grounding than the way Beomgyu’s arm is pressed to his, warm and familiar.

“I was thinking,” Beomgyu suddenly says, eyes meeting Taehyun’s once again, “Isn’t it terrible how _this_ is considered the height of high school life? Sneaking out, partying?”

“Yeah, well. That’s what all the books say. Movies, too. Be a rebel, all that crap.” 

“We’re rebels, Taehyun.” Beomgyu giggles softly. “Never thought this day would come.”

Rebels. The word coats Taehyun’s skin, stays there like a sheen of gloss. Makes him feel shiny. Brand new. 

Rebels. Are they, really?

Kang Taehyun, president of the student council and member of the school’s debate team, is not a rebel. He’s never skipped a day of school in his life, he’s shown up to classes and meetings even in the worst of states. People approach him all the time—shy undergrads included—for concerns about this and that, for reports and recommendations. And Taehyun has always listened. The entire student body looks up to him. He does his job well, there’s no denying it.

Choi Beomgyu, student council vice president, isn’t a rebel, either. He’s known for his perfect grades, despite the abundance of extracurricular work required of him. The biggest teacher’s pet, he’s the person Taehyun sends to the office whenever a problem arises. He’s friendly, smiles at everyone. People love Beomgyu as much as they do Taehyun, if not more. 

Yet, they’re here. Drinking at the very establishment that regards them so highly. Taehyun thinks about the irony of it all. 

What would they feel, seeing the smart, good Beomgyu leaning on the ever so careful and composed Taehyun, both sharing a bottle of soju after breaking into the school premises?

Who _are_ Beomgyu and Taehyun, anyway?

“Did we waste it, hyung?” Taehyun asks.

“What?” 

“You know, the normal high school life. Youth. Whatever—did we waste it? Lose it?”

Taehyun will forever think of high school as a cycle of meetings and all-nighters. Stellar grades and star studded compliments. It should be everything, he knows people envy him, but is youth really supposed to feel like piles of paperwork and sweating on school event days? Writing countless speeches and being rewarded with rounds of applause?

“I think,” Beomgyu whispers, “that youth is whatever we want it to be.”

When Taehyun won as student council president, everyone told him they saw it coming. 

No one is more fit for this then you, no one can handle this mess better than you. So Taehyun wore the title on his shoulders, walked with pride. 

And, well. Nothing terrible happened to the school. That’s great, right? Looking back, Taehyun did a pretty good job.

“High school was just me losing my mind,” Taehyun snickers. “Weirdly enough, I liked it.” 

Beomgyu grins. “Crazy, huh?” 

“Our type of crazy.”

They laugh at that. God, they’re pathetic.

“Can’t base life off of weird TV shows. That’s absolutely _not_ how highschoolers act.”

“I know, hyung.” Taehyun snorts. They’re a waste of time. Not relatable in the slightest.

“Besides, we’re cooler than them. Like, we’ve never gotten a grade lower than a 90!” There’s a glint in Beomgyu’s eye that makes Taehyun stare at him for a moment too long. “Isn’t that cool?”

Taehyun grows even more hysterical at that, hugging his knees tighter as the laughter hits him from everywhere. “I think it means we’re nerds, hyung,” he chuckles.

“Whatever.” Beomgyu pouts, pushing his glasses up. “At least _we_ don’t have to worry about failed subjects.” 

“Mm, yeah. We made it.” 

They rearrange the now-wrinkled picnic mat. Beomgyu throws Taehyun a piece of gimbap, he catches it, the plastic making a wrinkling noise in his grasp. He tears it open and they both eat silently. 

It’s nearly midnight and Taehyun thinks it was worth it—working so hard in high school. There was nothing he loved more than seeing the smiles of his schoolmates, getting on the good side of all his teachers. 

Taehyun’s youth spans heavy responsibilities and academics, wooden podiums and organizations.

But his youth is also _this_ : tingling nerves at the thought of doing something he shouldn't, trying new things with a boy who shares the same sentiments as he does. A person Taehyun so desperately likes, it’s enough for him to want to do this—be alone with him here, even though it goes against everything they’re known for. 

They’re Beomgyu and Taehyun, after all. Kids like everyone else, wide-eyed and curious. No matter what people see them as, they’re just learning how to quell storms together.

It really doesn't matter what the world thinks. 

━━━━━━━━━

A bottle of soju later, they’re buzzed. 

Not drunk, not yet, but Beomgyu’s more giggly than usual and Taehyun feels like he could float. 

The moon hangs low, lovely and serene. Taehyun raises a hand, squints as he tries to pinch it between two fingers. What would the moon feel like, if it could be touched?

He moves his head to the side to glance at Beomgyu. He’s gazing at the sky, too, features glowing. Moonlight fits perfectly on his face. There’s a flush on his cheeks and Taehyun wants to trace it with a finger. 

“You’re pretty,” Taehyun blurts out. 

“Psh.” Beomgyu isn't even looking at him. “You say that too much, Taehyun.”

“It’s true, though.”

Taehyun has never been more thankful for this very ambiguous thing between them than he does tonight. Gives him the leeway to say these things, especially with the alcohol clouding his judgment.

Because Beomgyu is pretty. Very terrifyingly so. Taehyun absolutely has to let him know. 

“Remember when I thought you hated me back in freshman year?” Beomgyu asks him instead. 

“Yeah...” Taehyun drawls, recalling the events of four years ago. “I never understood why, though. I was always so,” he shudders, “alone in my own world. How could I hate on anyone?”

“I don’t know, you just intimidated me. The kid younger than everyone else in his grade, yet smarter and more outspoken than them all.” Beomgyu bites his lip right after he let it out, like he wanted to take back what he just said.

“Are you kidding?” Taehyun gapes. “I literally looked up to you, hyung! You were so...you made everything seem easy. Topping all exams, befriending even the older kids—everyone loved you. I was way too serious, couldn’t even crack a smile.”

“People liked that about you, though.”

“...Liked _what_?”

“Your aura,” Beomgyu gestures around. “The closed-off cold guy act. They just never had the courage to approach you—thought you were all business and stuff.”

Taehyun huffs, surprised. Is he that dense? Beomgyu looks at him, eyes soft as he smiles. There’s something unreadable in his gaze.

Moonlight. It spills on Beomgyu’s hair, his face, past his collarbones. 

“How ‘bout you, hyung?” Taehyun’s words are starting to slur into each other. The soju’s really taking effect. “You think I’m all,” he quotes, “business ‘n stuff?”

Beomgyu’s so close, when did he get this close? His eyes roam around Taehyun’s face and Taehyun blinks dumbly. His chest squeezes.

“What do you think, Taehyunnie?” He pulls Taehyun even closer. His breath fans Taehyun’s skin, like it did on the grass, next to the ladder. 

Beomgyu looks like a dream. Taehyun wants to frame the moment before it slips away. Tuck it in his pillow and keep it hidden. It’s for his eyes only. 

“Well,” Taehyun’s staring at Beomgyu’s lips. “I think _you_ like me.” 

Beomgyu sputters, “What the fuck does that have to do with—!”

Then they’re kissing, and Taehyun realizes the moon can be touched, after all. Can shiver against him, body so close to his. Can taste this sweet.

Beomgyu is the moon and Taehyun is helpless, so he allows the glow to engulf every crevice of his skin. He’s floating, he’s flying, moonlight is spilling everywhere.

“Strawberries.” Taehyun blurts as they break apart. “You taste like strawberries.”

“It’s the lip balm, I put it on before we had our grad photos taken.”

Taehyun kisses him again. Beomgyu’s reflexes are quick, he gives in instantly.

It’s delicate, the way Beomgyu holds Taehyun. Hand on his nape, the other on his face, thumb circling his cheek idly. Taehyun melts, pressing closer, wanting more, more. He tastes the soju on Beomgyu’s lips, grazes his teeth on it softly. 

Taehyun isn’t drunk, but his brain feels hazy and he thinks it would be a pleasure to get high on the here and now. On the way Beomgyu touches him like he’s sacred.

_I will miss you when this is over, I will miss you once this moment’s gone._

“Fine. I do like you,” Beomgyu confirms when they pull away. “I’ve liked you since sophomore year, when we started that silent battle of who could get higher scores.” 

Fuck, really? Taehyun was the biggest dork back then. “Hey, I always beat you in math and science,” Taehyun grins. “You had nothing on me.”

Beomgyu shoves him. Huffs petulantly. “I’m taking everything I said back.”

Taehyun whines, reaching for Beomgyu. “No, I like you too, hyung. I really do.” He pouts. Feelings are so hard to explain. “I like you so much, I couldn’t—couldn’t act on it soon enough. Too afraid,” he mumbles, “too scared that I’d mess it all up.”

“Christ,” Beomgyu winces. “We’re so stupid.”

Taehyun grins into Beomgyu’s shirt. He snuggles closer to Beomgyu, head below his chin. Beomgyu has his arms around Taehyun, he’s rocking them both slightly from side to side. Taehyun closes his eyes, leans back to bask in the heat of Beomgyu’s skin, the tingles that have not yet left his lips, the burn in his throat. 

He doesn’t want this moment to ever turn into a stranger. 

“I don’t want to graduate yet.” Taehyun confesses after a while, voice breaking a little. “I’m sick of the hallways but I’m not ready to leave.”

“I’m not, either.”

And there’s nothing they can really do about it, so they sit in silent resignation. Taehyun has no control over this growing up thing. It’s a weight that’s been pressing on him for quite a while now, though it’s comforting to know Beomgyu feels the same.

No one ever knows how to handle this, huh? 

“Meet me at the parking lot, ‘kay?” Beomgyu says, almost as an afterthought. “After graduation.”

That was surprising. “What do you have planned, hyung?”

“Nothing.” When Beomgyu laughs, it’s airy and easy. “We can let the wind do its thing. Watch where it leads us.”

Taehyun waits for the unease to strike—the one that makes him shy away from spontaneous acts—but it doesn't come. 

_Watch where it leads us._

He can do that. 

━━━━━━━━━

Later on, Taehyun will have to walk back home and find a way to not get caught. He’ll sneak through the window, maybe, or enter from the back. 

He’ll have to survive his last week of high school, a brewing storm up ahead. His graduation speech is still incomplete, every time he opens his laptop, the cursor blinks. Taunts him. He’ll have to finish that one very soon.

But that’s all for later. He can tuck them away first, have them settle at the back of his mind. Taehyun takes another swig from the bottle. It burns his throat and he grins.

For now, he’s just Taehyun. Staring at the stars from a rooftop, fingers intertwined with Beomgyu’s. 

Everything else can wait.

**Author's Note:**

> i finally caved and made a [writing twt](https://twitter.com/tofutyun) and a [cc](https://curiouscat.me/tofutyun) — feel free to hmu, haha
> 
> thank you so much for reading and i wish you a happy day ahead!! as always, kudos and comments are very much appreciated <3


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